Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Episode 13

On a thematic level, this episode is about one thing: regrets. This is on point for the series—after all, Frieren's entire quest is predicated on her regrets for not spending time with Himmel while she had the chance. However, her relationship (or lack thereof) with Himmel is far from the only regret in her millennium or more of life—nor is this her first time struggling with these feelings.

Back during the fight with Aura, we saw the first meeting of Frieren and those who would become her companions—how Himmel, upon meeting her, repeated the same words to her that she had said to Flamme all those centuries before. At the time, this was all framed as something triumphant—the destined moment that marked the end of her training and the start of her journey to kill the Demon King. However, in this episode, we see that this isn't all there is to the story.

By the time Himmel and the others sought out Frieren, she had already defeated herself. She had kept up with her training—both building her mana and limiting it—but she had never done anything with that power. Sure, the plan was to come from obscurity and steamroll the Demon King and his forces before they could figure out what was happening but none of that mattered if she never started the attack.

Over the years, Frieren had come to believe she had missed her chance to act. This caused her no end of regret. Then as more years passed, she regretted not acting when she had realized she had missed her chance—there still might have been time, after all. This caused an endless spiral of regret with each year adding to her sense of uselessness.

There's a good chance that she would have never set out on her mission if left alone in her little cabin in the woods. Luckily, Himmel and the others came for her—and he was able to make her do what she was having problems with; focusing on the present.

With an infinite lifespan, it's hard to care about the immediate. We've seen Frieren struggle with this in her journey with Fern. Months searching for a flower or cleaning a beach are but short diversions for her. However, it's clear that now she is actively trying to live in the moment along with Fern and Stark—to treasure the short time she has with them even if it goes against her very nature. Thanks to Himmel, she was able to break free from the endless spiral of regrets and learn that it is never too late to change yourself, do better, and live in the moment.

Of course, it's not just immortals who struggle with endlessly spiraling regrets—which brings us to Sein. Sein is a man who missed his chance to follow his dream and regrets it every day. It's no wonder Freiren sees herself in him and is determined to do for him what Himmel did for her. However, this isn't out of pity or pure goodwill. Rather, it's a bit of self-loathing. Frieren doesn't like her past self—the person she was before Himmel. Giving Sein a kick in the butt is a way of striking back at who she used to be.

The issue that gets in the way is that Sein's situation is not the same as Frieren's. What's holding Sein in place isn't a fear of the unknown—a fear of not knowing whether the moment is right or not. What's keeping Sein in the village is guilt. Sein feels that his brother sacrificed his dreams and future to stay with him. So how could Sein then repay that by heading off after his dreams? That's why, in addition to the regret of not going off to be an adventurer, he feels shame for having those regrets in the first place.

What Sein doesn't understand is that, to Sein's brother, staying with Sein wasn't a sacrifice. What he wanted wasn't to become a famous priest in the city. It was for his brother to grow up happily in the place he loved. He never agonized over what could have been because he did follow his dreams. He never once wanted Sein to give up on his dreams for him—he wanted Sein to follow his dreams just as he had. Luckily, by the end of this episode, the misunderstanding is cleared up and Sein is ready to seize the moment—with three new friends to accompany him.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I read the opening scene as Frieren bullying her past self by leaving Sein trapped in the mud after hearing his story. We've seen Fern use magic to carry a passed-out Stark so it's safe to assume Freiren could have done the same to rescue Sein at any time.

• I don't what's funnier, how completely unsexy Frieren's “blowing a kiss” gesture is, or how it destroys Fern and Stark. (This episode gets a lot of mileage out of mocking the “loli-grandma” trope.)

• You have to love that Sein is such a morally terrible priest that it makes Heiter (even with his alcoholism) look like a model one—especially to Fern who loved him like a father.

• I wonder if Stark's warrior nature would have saved him from the snake venom if left alone. I mean, he did take an axe to the ribs with little trouble, after all.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.